A Libor Is Not a Cross Between a Lion and a Tiger

Are you ready for another financial scandal? Of course you are! This one involves then-New York Federal Reserve President Timothy Geithner meeting with Barclays. Nobody knows what the meetings were about, but...

Though the subject of those discussions is unknown, they came at a time when Barclays was also talking to New York Fed officials about problems with an interest rate known as Libor, some five years before the bank agreed to pay $450 million to settle charges that it manipulated that interest rate.

The meetings raise questions about just how much Geithner, now the U.S. Treasury secretary, knew about the alleged manipulation of Libor, a critical interest rate that affects borrowing costs throughout the economy — questions he'll have to answer at a Senate hearing later this month. They could also renew criticisms of Geithner as being too chummy with the banking sector he was charged with regulating in his role at the Fed.

This stuff can be hard to handle for my fellow non-financially minded folks, so let me direct your attention to this Business Insider infographic, which explains in relatively clear language what the big deal about Libor is. If Geithner knew about this, it means he had knowledge about a plot to basically steal money from the public.